Lay Analysis: Life Inside the Controversy

The struggle over the issue of "lay" or nonmedical analysis has divided the psychoanalytic world for practically the entire first century of psychoanalytic history - from 1910 when the issue first arose, until 1988 with the final settlement of a laysuit brought against the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) and International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA) for their exclusionary practices regarding the training of nonphysicians for psychoanalytic work. This text chronicles this history in detail. It begins with the events of 1910 in Europe and America that initiated their divergent attitudes and policies regarding lay analysis, proceeds to the unfolding struggles over this issue on both sides of the Atlantic and reviews the halting efforts of the APsaA, beginning in the 1950s, to reassess its opposition to lay analysis and made some provision for the training of nonmedical practitioners. Wallerstein's treatment of the response of American nonphysician therapists to the APsaA's policy - the manner in which they managed to obtain clinical psychoanalytic training despite the APsaA's prohibition - forms a story within his grand narrative.

Table of Contents:
Preface: The Conception of this Book. The Origins of the Question of Lay Analysis: The Development in Europe. The Confrontation from America and the "1938 Rule." The Post-World War II Resolution of the Crisis. My Life into Psychoanalysis. Training for Research: The First Crack in the Door. The Four Committees of the American and the Precipitation of the Lawsuit. My Career in the IPA and the Filing of the Lawsuit. The First Year of the Lawsuit. The Settlement Negotiations that Failed - April to October 1986. Averting a Spilt: Agreement between the American and the IPA, December 1989. Revision of the "1938 Agreement," July 1987: The End of a Half-Century of Controversy. The Clash over Class Certification, October 1987-February 1988. The Settlement Agreement: October 1988. The 1989 IPA Congress: Resolution of the Issue. Struggles over Implementation, 1989-1990. Further Struggles over Implementation, 1990-1991. Subsidence of the Legal Threat. The Story Brought to Date, 1996. The Meaning of the Controversy: The Identity of Psychoanalysis.

Review :
"There is no one better suited to chronicle the most significant change in American psychoanalysis than Robert Wallerstein. In this remarkable work of contemporary history he describes, practically blow by blow, the story of the struggle of lay psychoanalysts to gain recognition by the psychoanalytic establishment. Wallerstein had the special advantage of being President of the IPA during the crucial period that led to the recognition of fully trained nonmedical analysts. Objectively written, this work will take its place as one of the most important books on the history of psychoanalysis." - Joseph Sandler, M.D., Ph.D., Past President, International Psychoanalytic Association